With message queuing information systems, such as IMS (Information Management System), a product of International Business Machines Corp. of Armonk, N.Y., it is important to ensure that message queues in the message queuing information systems do not fill up to a point such that the message queuing information systems will be forced to shut down. In order to keep the message queues from reaching that point, batch jobs can be started to unload messages from the message queues.
Batch jobs, however, are currently under the control of message queuing information systems. This is not ideal because if a message queuing information system is on the verge of shutting down as a result of too many messages being loaded in message queues, then the message queuing information system may not be in any condition to control a batch job.
In addition, the number of ways to start a batch job in a message queuing information system is limited. Currently, batch jobs either have to be started by a job scheduler in the message queuing information system or by a user from a client terminal through a server connected to the message queuing information system.
Starting a batch job from a client terminal is further complicated by the fact that presently, each server can only connect to a single message queuing information system and each message queuing information system can only connect to a single server. Hence, in order to start a batch job at a particular message queuing information system, a user must locate the single server that is connected to the particular message queuing information system and then go through that single server to start the batch job at the particular message queuing information system.